Meth Effects

As the head of Thomas County's Narcotics Division, Kevin Lee sees meth users almost every day.

Kevin says, "We see it all the time. I may arrest a guy today and we'll see him a month from now. I may arrest him again and he's lost 30 or 40 pounds."

Lee says snapshots capture the before and after effects of meth use. He says users lose their hair and teeth, break out all over the body, and damage internal organs.

Kevin says, "Most of the ingredients have skulls and cross bones on them when you by them at your local store, so it's not designed to go into your body."

And as bad as the physical images are, at Archbold's Northside Hospital, addiction specialists say the emotional toll of methamphetamine is just as bad.

Charlie Rowe, an addiction specialist, says, "A lot of problems there; can go into psychosis, you can have hallucinations, it can also go into something very similar to Parkinson's Disease. A lot of problems with it. It creates a lot of problems for the individual."

Addiction specialists at Archbold's Northside Hospital say the number of people they’re treating for meth addictions is increasing rapidly during the last few years.

Rowe adds, "There's no cure for an addiction."

Making images of the drug’s harsh reality is very important in the fight against meth.

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